Auster

On gaming specifically, at least I suffer from the opposite, if I don’t police myself, I risk getting dehydrated, as I either play games that engage me, or try to find the fun in them, and then I get so focused by the game I forget water.

Something I noticed early on is that a lot of explanations for Linux can be used, at least partially, for multiple subjects/programs/situations. Also stress can hinder perception. So when I would reach a roadblock, I left the project in the corner and came back to it a few days later. For the first year, it helped a bunch.

Also taking the time to read terminal logs when something breaks helps a bunch, either to figure out by yourself, or to search in your search engine of choice.

And like with learning a new language, the learning curve requires patience. Besides, having had the opportunity to test multiple systems, some popular and some highly specific, each was quirky even when close to a system I already knew, so maybe testing around in a virtual machine or a spare laptop to find the Linux distro that best fits you might help?

40:1 intensifies

Didn’t see the original analysis that is used to make that claim, so I can only argue about more general problems, specifically to what scopes one can keep using only software he/she can audity and is free to use. For example, work may require tunelling tools or email/messaging programs which you have no control over. Also the majority of games have at least closed source elements. You also can’t guarantee the sites you access are FOSS or the hardware you have available makes its blueprints or firmwares available and auditable. Also if your setup grows, e.g. using a game controller, USB stick, another screen, etc., drivers needed and/or installed could be a “black box” too as you say.

Such an end is still utopic, too far to reach, so my suggestion would be trimming what can be replaced or ignored while rising awareness (and possible solutions¹) to specific problem, and through that step by step move closer to such a fully FOSS objective.

¹pointing problems without proposing solutions, that I can observe, is a great way to make the listener lose his/her will to tackle a given problem

This shoehorning of Rust feels more artificial than Wayland’s. 🤔

But about how they would work, I think you can compare any to caffeine:

Caffeine is a drug with stimulant effect that people use to circumvent tiredness. But the stimulus is not lasting, so the person needs to drink again after some hours. And as the body grows resistant to it, and the brain associates the product to the effect, you need to take in more and more, at the risk of getting abstinence otherwise.

Besides the legal issue, there’s also the problem of such drugs being highly addictive, highly damaging, and those who distribute such drugs not caring much for laws overall. So even if such drugs indeed trigger a part of the person ADHD would hinder, the risks far outweigh the benefits.